Every SAP Digital Transformation needs simple but complete methodology embracing OCM, solid governance mechanism and good emotions…

Obviously SAP Activate - the successor of ASAP, slated by SAP to lead any SAP components-based digital transformation - doesn't cover all the areas of such a transformation. We need to use various methodologies on the top. Practice shows that it may lead to some confusions or even create dangerous gaps thus leading to troubles.

Purpose of this article

Here I am going to share my concept how to do it smart, how to extend SAP Activate by adding some well proven components from other methodologies to get complete and robust SAP Digital Transformation Method. This may be also helpful for other ERP-ish products.

In short words we do not need a lot indeed: we need to strengthen Organizational Change Management, especially leveraging positive emotions around transformation, and we need more Control and Governance to prevent transformation from drifting astray towards bad patterns damaging transformation.

This article covers following topics:

• A bit more why is still a need there to talk about project management method.
• Why do we need Organizational Change Management along with Value Management and a bit of happiness here.
• Why do we need extended (by OCM) SAP Project Reviews, means more Control.
• Why more Governance overarching both IT and OCM is strongly recommended.
• Three components to make SAP driven Digital Transformation methodology quite complete: SAP Activate + OCM + Control/Governance.

Why do we need still to talk about, as ERP is already more than 30 years old concept?

SAP Digital Transformation is all connected with and around ERP - a kind of spine of every organization. The ERP concept is more than 30 years old, but we still need to tackle with the way how to do it right - it is due to complex nature of ERP Digital Transformation. Especially loud failures show existing deficits here. Studying these I found it is mainly because a weak Organizational Change side and lack of persistence on transformation course which leads that transformation projects drift astray. That brings up the conclusion of clear need to strengthen Control and even entire Governance what all together says we need complete Transformation Methodology here.

ERP based Digital Transformation is complex - it requires not only IT changing and adapting to an organization, but also and maybe foremost, Organizational Change to happen along and hand-in-hand with IT to get the best possible advantage of newest IT. Neglected OCM leads to lack of acceptance and/or to recreation of legacy instead of transforming to a new state. Without OCM there is no real business transformation possible.

What makes the thing even harder: this kind of transformation is hardly to imagine today without good emotions created and maintained around it. Good OCM and project management is also about maintaining positive emotions around a transformation project. In contrast to this I found that all the methodologies are really boring what makes this tough. So, it seems here we still have a serious gap to cover!

This article is a consequence and continuation of a series of small articles where studying troubled projects specifically loud failures I have written about the need to extend SAP Project Reviews and SAP Activate in order to give complete tool-set, like https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6438281283637440512.

What about existing methodologies - what about SAP Activate?

For SAP Digital Transformation there are many methodologies used by various implementation vendors, but since SAP is giving an "official" one - this is today SAP Activate - we focus on this one as every can handle it as a reference.

SAP Activate is doubtless a perfect detailed product related recipe what to do with the SAP components to make this side of digital transformation happen. However SAP Activate doesn't embrace all the scope of digital transformation - it is no wonder indeed as SAP never presented their methods as such. SAP refers for example to "Business Transformation Management Methodology": Methodologies

Every matured project manager can handle it "manually" but it creates in practice a kind of serious deficit: lack of alignment within one method. Let's take very important in this context area of Quality Management - this is reflected in SAP Activate only in technical part. Then if that comes to great detail are more and more narrowed to very technical meaning like Quality Gates that tend to care solely about transported configuration:

What about the rest of transformation, what about the quality of organizational change? Again: experienced SAP projects managers can handle it in their own way, and so we have many successful projects though. Loud failures teach us that sometimes it doesn't work especially when Project Management is weak and undermined.

So it makes sense to talk about it and try to formulate how to do it - I am going to present my concept based on SAP Activate to get Complete Method for SAP Digital Transformations.

Why do we need Organizational Change Management along with Value Management and positive emotions?

Due to my study over failed project it was never a product or technique cause of any failure. ERP is a technology with more than 30 years history and thus stable. I am fully confident based on my knowledge and experience that SAP can be proper solution for every kind of organization. This is "only" right architecture, sound vision and then persistence making it happen.

Considering SAP ERP it embraces all the transaction “core” that every organization needs. Some label ERP packages "off-the-shelf" but obviously they aren't of this kind. ERP packages specifically SAP gives a plethora of ways to change and adapt. Especially dangerous is "customizing" understood widely as changing the package by writing a new code. That may be extension or modification of the core code. To keep it short - especially adapting the package by changing the core code turns ERP implementation into infamous IT development project with all the severe consequences. Then you can forget about doing it fast...

The main thing is since ERP is a new design of business collaboration there is no chance that any pre-ERP legacy may be recreated with this 1:1. You may try and even live in illusion you can do something new and better with recreating and doing things like you did so far, but it is similar like you expected you recreate traditional post within social network – with all these manual sentimental rituals – that is practically impossible. Foremost that has no business sense. But it is luring to force the change even via customizing what as we know from failed projects is a way to hell.

I put it clear: if you need to do things with ERP and take the full advantage of it you have to transform your organization. This process we call today “digital transformation” and means both IT and organization have to change along and intact to reach the best result. That is why we need Organizational Change Management here.

As already said SAP Activate method is a perfect tool to implement SAP components like ERP. But for digital transformation we need a bit more as SAP Activate is strongly focused on material things. We need definitely something to deal with human factor which is a fundamental of Organizational Change Management. This area is touched in SAP Activate but far from covering it sufficiently. 

The idea of SAP to bring SCRUM to SAP Digital Transformations was brilliant, but still there is a space for improvement. Emotions are very important in ERP based Digital Transformation as Organizational Change is vital part of it to happen with best possible result and there is no Organizational Change possible today without positive emotions around.

We need to strengthen Organizational Change Management - the best in form of good accepted methodology like Prosci or Kotter’s 8 steps (https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6427788577689739264) and foster good contol and governance of both IT and organizational change changing together.

Would take Prosci but love Kotter's as more intuitive - shall we say more emotional and emotions here are valuable to balance "check-list" material focused approach in SAP Activate.

Why a sound Control is a must?

Digital transformations of ERP kind as said embrace two main layers supposed to be changed in sync creating together new unique value: solution and organization. However they always tend to go own way, like organization often tends to recreate legacy as the easiest and allegedly most natural way but it reality may deny transformation. That is why we need a Control to over-arch the named above components come along hand in hand and to prevent projects from drifting into bad patterns.

ERP embraces an entire company, which creates a huge demand on talents and discipline of vision deployment. Moreover I have found that majority of loud failed projects had started with very good vision and momentum and they failed later. Obviously they were left without right control, got awry and drifted astray (https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6429589942514565120).

Troubled projects and loud failures teach us, that the main cause was lack of persistence. All projects, especially those of a kind of a complex digital transformation program, tend “naturally” to drift away from the right course and turn into wrong patterns. Like a ship left on the way without continuous correction of the course. Projects set rightly and even going very well may at some point drift away from the course. 

There is only one way to prevent from this bad drift: continuous monitoring and corrections of the course. I promote in this context project reviews as a cheap and reliable tool to secure the right course. First we need to strengthen Control by SAP Project Reviews - what is in SAP Activate materialized by Quality Gates - by Organizational Change Management aspects check-up.

But why do we need stronger Governance?

Studying loud ERP failures, we can see that they – like in Lidl case - have flown till they ran out of fuel. Was it necessary?

They failed not because software, as they did POC and have run live in some countries. Obviously, project management has failed here as first – like in the movie - but what is a difference here was missing something to trigger any search for a solution.

What has failed then is a governance, in known methodologies settled differently like in PRINCE2 “Directing a Project” or “Project Monitoring and Control” in PMI.

(this part is under development)

Three components to make SAP driven Digital Transformation happen

I am not going to invent the wheel again – the best in my humble opinion is to take what is the best and very well known on the market and extend SAP Activate to cover the needs of digital transformation. Briefly for complete Digital Transformation we need three elements:

1. Overarching product knowledge to know what we can/should change and specifically which change may destabilize core of ERP and/or can cause severe consequences;

2. Value Management letting us see the potential of business improvement by a newest IT technology and Organizational Change Management to change organization and processes to get it.

3. Project governance and controls to balance both above and see whether they are changing along. PRINCE2, PMI or would consider AgilePM if it should be SCRUM-ish.

I put this document with the the aim to work on it and extend to show you how I understand extended SAP Project Review and consequently also SAP Digital Transformation Management so please stay tuned!